One day of the year needs to be opposite day, a day where people can turn their world inside-out and send it up in some of the most creative, subversive and mind blowing ways know to the human psyche. Case in point: the Halloween costumes of Bill Cosby the Rapist (usually some variation of Cosby about to give a woman something to drink, then, well, you know).
Pure brilliance! Satiric legend!
Moreover, the costumes and all the other reminders of what Bill Cosby is alleged to have done to countless women is, in and of itself, rape.
The rape of Bill Cosby’s persona and legacy.
Bill Cosby, now accused of essentially being a serial rapist, may or may not be held criminally accountable, but Bill Cosby will die knowing he’s been shamed beyond compare.
The removing of his name, his image, his identity from so many forums is rape.
And whether or not any of the allegations are true, consider this:
The women who’ve come forward relay similar stories of one man, the same man, drugging and sexually assaulting them. And the man — Cosby — not only joked about drugging women in his comedy routines; his M.O. with the ladies appears to have been common knowledge within his comedic circles.
Tools of the trade.
Apparently, drugging women was not an uncommon practice during the “free love” era of the 1960s and 70s. In fact, some considered it akin to giving a woman a wine cooler (or two, or three). To some extent, one could argue it was part of the culture of men getting women in the mood.
Libation, whether you like it or not!
But here’s the clincher for me in the Cosby rape saga: If you, Mr. Cosby, sir, were an upstanding gentleman/mentor who never put your powerful self in the powerful position of being alone in intimate spaces with impressionable young women, you wouldn’t have countless women accusing you of using your M.O. on them decades later, when it suddenly becomes clear to the world that drugging women to get them to have sex without their consent is rape.
Tools of the trade, but nobody forces you to be a tool!
What is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to how men treat women has always been a gray area. That’s what you get when you live in a man’s world.
A man’s world: were cavemen dragging women by the hair is entertainment.
A man’s world: were a comedy routine about drugging women or getting them drunk is the stuff of mainstream comedy and Broadway musicals.
Guess what? We’re not living in a man’s world anymore, so much. Haven’t you heard? Like the Beyoncé song says, girls run the world. Or they’re starting to. Which is a good thing, considering the way we boys have handled things the last 10,000-or-so years.
Here’s the thing and I’ll nutshell it for you:
Bill Cosby may have justified his actions at the time through the lens of a man’s world. But that’s no excuse! You don’t not do something because it’s illegal or unacceptable, or it falls in the gray area of what is or isn’t. No! Not if you want to be a good man.
A good man lives by his own moral code and that code says: you don’t not do something because it’s illegal, you don’t do it because it’s not right! And it’s not right, if you wouldn’t want it done to you or your loved ones!
Apparently, Bill Cosby did not do what was right when it came to countless women he was able to prey on using his position of power.
Bill Cosby deserves the Halloween costumes and more.
He deserves the rape of Bill Cosby.
Full disclosure: I, too, was once a fan of the entertainer, even posed for a photo with Bill Cosby, when I was a UCLA cheerleader in 1985.
Randy Boyd author 